The Code of Hammurabi
by Heya-Alex
Summary: Jounouchi expects Kaiba's return to spice up his dull summer a little. What he doesn't expect are weird phone-calls, and Kaiba's behaviour getting gradually stranger every day. Warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh.

Summary: Jonouchi expects Kaiba's return to spice up his dull summer a little. What he doesn't expect are weird phone-calls, and Kaiba's behaviour getting gradually stranger every day.

Warnings: Violence, grievous bodily harm (not very explicit, but it's there in later chapters)

Notes: I am not sure whether to use suffixes like -kun or not. I kept them in, but if they bother you, please let me know.

Jounouchi loved many things about his new job at the ice cream booth. First, he got to spend a big part of his summer in one of the most beautiful parks in Domino. Second, he could enjoy the hot weather without ever getting too hot (although having cold hands wasn't exactly comfortable either). Third, many children considered him their hero and liked to hear about his experiences in various tournaments, which was why his job was rarely actually boring.

Except on days like today.

With a sigh, he raised his head and looked up to the grey sky. It wasn't really cold (otherwise he would have gotten the day off), but it was definitely too gloomy for hoards of children to be surrounding his booth. Not to mention that it had already rained in the morning, and wet grass did not attract many picnickers.

Usually, in case of boredom, he called one of his friends over, bribing them with free ice-cream, but unfortunately, none of them was free today. Yugi had promised to come after work at five, but he still had to find something to do until then.

The chances of selling anything got even worse when it suddenly started to rain again. Not heavily, but enough for the few potential costumers to leave and seek shelter.

_I'm sure it will be over soon_, Jounouchi thought hopefully. Barely a minute later, the rhythm of raindrops against the big parasol above him quickened.

_Great. _

Frustrated, Jounouchi took out his phone and looked for the time. Less than four hours to go. Maybe he should call his boss and ask whether he should just close down the place. It didn't appear as though that it would clear up any time soon.

"What a nice day for business, isn't it?"

"Hmpf," Jounouchi made. And then he froze.

Slowly, he raised his head, and indeed, none other than Kaiba was standing there right next to him, not even looking at him, arrogant prick that he was, but rather facing the same direction as he did.

Jounouchi gritted his teeth and tried his best to remind himself that they had parted on friendly terms. More or less.

"Long time, no see?" he said a bit awkwardly. That wasn't entirely true in his case, as he'd seen Kaiba often on TV, but he had to admit, he'd changed a little bit in the past few months he'd spent in America. Or maybe it was just the absence of his enormous coat; he wasn't used to seeing Kaiba in a simple dark suit.

"Right" was the simple answer.

They stood and watched the rain.

"So... you want to buy some ice cream?" Jounouchi asked, because he didn't quite like the silence, and because he was an opportunist. "Or are you here to talk about the good old times?"

Finally, Seto turned his head in his direction, and after some seconds he replied drily, "I think it's quite obvious why I am here." He made a lazy gesture towards the sky.

"Well, but I'm selling ice-cream here. You can't just stand here under my umbrella without buying anything." Jounouchi tried again. Not that he would actually force him to leave; he wasn't that much of an asshole.

Kaiba grunted, and for a second, Jounouchi was sure that he would just leave, probably using his briefcase that looked kind of heavy (but maybe that was just because it was large and made of steel) as a shield from the rain, out of sheer stubbornness.

"Fine," he finally said. "I'll buy one."

"What flavour?" Jounouchi asked in a cheerfully professional manner, trying to ignore Kaiba's dark expression.

"Strawberry."

oooo

In the few weeks he'd been selling ice cream, Jounouchi had never seen anyone eating their ice cream in such a stiff manner. Children often smeared the cream all over their faces; most adults looked relaxed while eating ice cream.

Clearly, Kaiba wasn't one of them. He gripped the cone hard enough to make it crack a little, and his face remained impassive the whole time. On the other hand, though, it wasn't that big a surprise that didn't quite enjoy it; he looked really tired, with his face pale, and dark shadows beneath his eyes.

"When did you come back?" Jounouchi asked in another attempt at disrupting the silence. Kaiba wasn't the most fun company, but he was company, and Jounouchi wouldn't just waste it while it lasted.

"This morning."

"'This morning'," Jounouchi repeated incredulously. "Shit, Kaiba! You should go and get some sleep!"

"My company never sleeps," he said darkly. "Besides, it's none of your business."

Jounouchi knew that he should probably find a creative retort, but instead he started grinning. "Man, for a second I thought someone had brain-washed you into some nice and quiet guy. Good to see that you're still yourself."

"You would have liked that, huh? Is that why you stared at me for ten minutes straight?"

Jounouchi's ears turned red. "Why, you arrogant-"

Kaiba raised his hand in a placatory gesture. "I think I should go now. It stopped raining."

Jounouchi merely acknowledged it with a grunt, but then he reminded himself that he was supposed to be a bit more mature, now that he was in his final year.

"Hey, Kaiba!"

The CEO didn't turn around, but at least he stopped.

"Don't be a stranger, okay? I'm sure that Yugi... and the others will be happy that you and Mokuba are back."

He bit his lip, waiting for a disdainful remark, but Kaiba didn't say anything. In fact, he didn't even show any reaction. Which... was good? Jounouchi decided to be optimistic.

oooo

"And then I told him that we could meet up some time," Jounouchi said, before taking another bite of his burger.

Yugi and Anzu, who had just finished her shift at the burger joint, but still not changed out of her uniform, just stared at him.

"Bwat?" Jounouchi brought out, then swallowed hurriedly. "What?" he repeated, slightly defensively. It had made him feel mature, and he wanted validation

"Nothing," Anzu said quickly, waving her hand apologetically. "I'm just surprised that Kaiba-kun didn't say no."

"Well, he didn't really say yes either." Jounouchi shrugged, but Yugi just smiled.

"He has changed a lot since we first met him, right?"

Jounouchi nodded absently. To be quite honest, he didn't think Kaiba had changed all that much. Surely, he had become a bit more normal, but not exactly much nicer. Not towards him, at least. But then he reminded himself that Yugi definitely thought of Kaiba as a friend, and if he was honest with himself, he did so too. Not a good friend, though. A fire-forged friend, with emphasis on fire. He didn't really like him that much, but he couldn't say he didn't care at all. And somewhere, deep down, Kaiba probably felt the same way. At least Jounouchi hoped he did, because everything else would just be a proof of him being every bit as much of a jerk as he liked to pretend to be.

"What do you think, Jounouchi?"

"Huh?"

Anzu sighed. "He asked whether we should call him."

"I don't know," he said and leant back. "He looked kinda tired. I guess he has a lot of work to do."

"Still, I think it would be a good idea," Yugi insisted. "He'll always be busy."

"I'm sure that Mokuba-kun would also be happy about a reunion. How about next Saturday?"

Jounouchi's face fell. They had already made plans for Saturday – a movie night, just for them; him, Yugi, Honda, Anzu and Bakura. Juggling school and various jobs, they rarely had time to meet in their spare time. Of course he wasn't opposed to having Mokuba over, he was fun, but Kaiba?

And then Jounouchi felt like slapping himself in the face, because he knew that he really felt like an asshole for thinking that way.

"That's a great idea," he chimed in, a little more enthusiastically than intended. "I'm going to call him." _Why the hell did I say that?_

Yugi looked at him with slight doubt in his eyes, but then he nodded. "If he doesn't say yes, we could try asking Mokuba. He'll probably persuade him."

oooo

After walking Anzu to the dance studio, Yugi and Jounouchi got on the bus. They sat in silence, until Yugi tried to suppress a rather loud yawn.

"You okay, Yugi? It's not even seven o'clock."

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, rubbing his eyes. "We just had a lot of customers today, you know. A new game that is quite big in Europe has arrived. We're almost sold out. Grandpa promised to keep a copy though, so that we can play on Saturday.

While explaining the details of the game, Yugi considerably lightened up. He almost missed his stop.

Jounouchi gave him a small wave when the bus drove off. These days, he was a bit worried about his best friend. He seemed to cope well enough with the absence of the spirit, but he also appeared to feel the need to distract himself all the time. Maybe, it wasn't such a bad thing that Kaiba was back. Things certainly could become more exciting when he was around.

Not only for Yugi, he had to admit.


	2. Chapter 2

Sometimes, the weather report lied. A cloudless day turned into a rainy day, a rainy week into the driest week of the year. It was really annoying. Today, however, Jounouchi wished it could have been one of those days. Even underneath the parasol and close to the cooler, he felt as if he was standing in a sauna. Not to mention that dressing any lighter would had meant just wearing a speedo.

There was something nice about the park being filled with laughter and life, though. An oasis of familiarity amidst the town; even all adults had lost their air of stiffness, with their ties slightly loosened and the suit jackets long taken off.

Except for Kaiba Seto, of course, who apparently did not believe in being comfortable.

Jounouchi couldn't help gaping when he watched him walk by.

"Hey, moneybags, are you begging for a heat stroke?"

Kaiba stopped and shot a nasty glare at Jounouchi. Despite looking even more exhausted than yesterday, the effect wasn't lost.

Upon closer inspection, Jounouchi mused, he actually looked kind of cold. Or maybe it was just the relative paleness of his face, and the even more prominent shadows beneath his eyes. They looked more like bruises, really.

"Whoa, did you get any sleep last night?"

"None of your business," Kaiba stated matter-of-factly.

"Cut the crap, Kaiba," Jounouchi spat. "You look awful. I can't even imagine that Mokuba let you out of the house this morning."

"He didn't," Kaiba replied, his voice strained.

Jounouchi blinked. "Wait... are you trying to tell me that you slept in your office? That's sick, man!"

"I didn't say that." Kaiba had already turned around to leave, but Jonouchi stopped him.

"So, what about Saturday?"

Kaiba stared at him quizzically. "What about Saturday?"

"Well, Mr Busy Ass, I called you yesterday, but since you didn't pick up, I wrote you a text."

Kaiba still stared, now adding a raised eyebrow to the awkwardness Jounouchi was experiencing.

_Keep it cool._

"If you'd bothered looking at your phone, you'd know that I invited... I mean, the others and me invited you and Mokuba to a little reuinion, with movies and games..."

"I see."

A few silent moments passed.

"So... are you gonna come?"

"Unlikely."

And then he just left.

Jounouchi fumed and opened his mouth to yell at him to come back at once, because that conversation definitely wasn't over yet, but then he heard a small voice next to him. A little girl with braided hair looked up to him, pouting, and asked for an ice cream.

With a big smile, Jounouchi complied, and added some free sprinkles for her as an apology.

He looked back into the direction Kaiba had gone, but he was nowhere to be seen.

_Saturday will be so much fun, _he thought bitterly.

oooo

After work, Jounouchi went straight back home. The heat and the lack of sleep had drained his energy to the point that he didn't even feel hungry, which was a rarity for him.

He took a quick shower to cool down a little, and then threw himself on his bed, the wood creaking in protest. The second the noise faded, he fell asleep.

Roughly two hours later, he woke up to the quiet sound of the fan. His father must have turned it on, which meant that he was probably in a good mood today. If that was the case, then Jonouchi would be in a good mood too, and a good mood usually came with an increased appetite. Maybe he could ask his father if they have a slightly more fancy dinner than usual.

_Or not_. Jounouchi sighed in disappointment when he entered the empty living room. He'd have to settle for noodles then; just like every other evening. Well, he couldn't quite complain. He liked noodles. Then again, he also liked a little diversity.

Twenty minutes later, he was sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of steaming noodles, lazily zapping through the channels. News, news, random action movie, another action movie, quizshow, porn, more news, game show... _wait, was that Kaiba?_

Jounouchi turned back to the last news channel. Indeed, it was a report about Kaiba Corp - "New Case of Industrial Espionage?"

He munched thoughtfully on his dinner as he watched various clips of Kaiba assuring that everything was under control, wondering how Kaiba could look so professionally while yelling at the reporters, in two foreign languages nonetheless, one of which Jounouchi didn't even recognise. A voice-over stated that ever since his arrival in Japan, there had been no further official statement.

Jounouchi felt his good mood fading away and put the bowl down.. Most of the time, his mind almost seemed to reject the idea that Kaiba had a job with a lot of responsibility. It just didn't feel right. In school, he'd gotten to know him as a haughty, quiet guy who had badly masked his sheer insanity with transparent politeness. Later, he'd made acquaintance with the asshole with fancy gadgets and a well-hidden kind side. But he'd never seen him as Kaiba, the guy in a position of power that wasn't always as much fun as it looked like. It was surreal, and if he hadn't known any better, he probably would have assumed that Kaiba wasn't actually in charge of the company but rather the spoilt son of the actual person behind it all, who could walk around and do epic shit like playing card games on a Zeppelin.

A bit frustrated now, he switched back to one of the action movies. He'd seen it twice and liked it well enough that he didn't mind seeing it a third time.

And since Jonouchi was the luckiest guy on earth, his phone had to start beeping right at his favourite part. He thought about just checking it later when it beeped again. Maybe a coincidence? Or maybe his friends were in trouble. There was always something.

He picked up his phone – an older model, sturdy, which was exactly what he needed. Anzu hadn't quite approved of his choice, preferring newer models herself, and he knew that Kaiba would probably mock him forever if he saw it, but he'd be laughing last when his phone would outlive everybody else's. With the hem of his shirt, Jonouchi wiped the screen clean from some ice cream he'd apparently gotten on it during the day and pressed a random button to reveal that he had three new messages.

The first one was from Yugi, asking if Kaiba had accepted their invitation.

The second message was from Honda, asking why they had invited the Kaiba brothers all of a sudden. Maybe it was because of the expletives, but Jonouchi had the faint feeling that Honda wasn't very pleased.

The third one was from a number he didn't recognise, containing random letters, signs and numbers. _Wrong number, _he thought and shrugged. He deleted the text and began writing quick replies to Yugi and Honda. He hadn't even put down the phone again when a new message arrived.

"_sjdfDJFNA1dm+ds"_

"What the..."

It was from the same number as before. This had to be some kind of prank. Or maybe it was one of those scams - reply and prepare yourself for the phone bill of your life. Satisfied with this explanation, he deleted the text and turned his attention to the movie; or rather its ending credits.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Things were really stressful and I had a terrible writer's block, but now I'm back on track. Thank you for your lovely comments!


End file.
